Russia and China trade new copper disguised as scrap to skirt taxes, sanctions | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
July 11, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2025
Russia and China trade new copper disguised as scrap to skirt taxes, sanctions

World+Biz

Reuters
15 April, 2024, 11:15 am
Last modified: 15 April, 2024, 11:37 am

Related News

  • Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients
  • Rubio to meet China's foreign minister in Malaysia as US-Chinese tensions mount
  • China, Canada commit to deeper engagement with Bangladesh on trade, humanitarian assistance
  • Trump sets 50% US tariffs on copper, Brazilian imports starting in August
  • Tariffs drive US clothing imports from China to 22-year low in May

Russia and China trade new copper disguised as scrap to skirt taxes, sanctions

The sales of new metal disguised as scrap, which started in December, are reflected in a discrepancy between Chinese and Russian data

Reuters
15 April, 2024, 11:15 am
Last modified: 15 April, 2024, 11:37 am
Trucks carrying copper and other goods are seen waiting to enter an area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, in Shanghai September 24, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
Trucks carrying copper and other goods are seen waiting to enter an area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, in Shanghai September 24, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

Russian Copper Company (RCC) and Chinese firms have avoided taxes and skirted the impact of Western sanctions by trading in new copper wire rod disguised as scrap, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Copper wire rod was shredded in the remote Xinjiang Uygur region by an intermediary to make it hard to distinguish from scrap, the sources said, allowing both exporters and importers to profit from differences in tariffs applied to scrap and new metal, the sources said.

Russia's export duty on copper rod was 7% in December, lower than the 10% levy on scrap. Imports of copper rod into China are taxed at 4%, and there is no duty on Russian scrap imports.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

The sales of new metal disguised as scrap, which started in December, are reflected in a discrepancy between Chinese and Russian data.

Chinese customs data showed China has bought significantly more copper scrap from Russia since December, while Russian figures Reuters obtained from a commercial data provider showed the amount of scrap exported to the country's biggest trade partner was negligible.

In response to a Reuters' inquiry on the discrepancy, Russian customs said: "The Federal customs service temporarily does not provide data on foreign trade." It stopped publishing trade data in April 2022 shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the market has relied on commercial providers.

Asked about the trade in copper rod to Chinese firms, RCC, which is subject to Western sanctions, said that it supplies products only to Russian companies. It did not comment further.

China's customs in Xinjiang, which borders Russia, did not respond to an emailed inquiry and a telephone call.

China has become a major destination for Russian companies seeking to export their commodities after the United States imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Chinese companies for supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine.

DISGUISE

Shredding newly-made copper wire rod is an effective way to disguise new material that looks very different to scrap.

The new, high-purity copper long, thin rods, mainly used for making power cables, are typically coiled for ease of transport.

Copper scrap, by contrast, is a mix of wires, tubes and pipes that have already been used. They are chopped into grain-sized pieces or coiled and pressed, like packs of noodles, for transport.

The shredding had escaped notice as China has restricted access to the Xinjiang region in response to international condemnation of Uygur repression, the sources said.

Apart from the financial incentive of avoiding taxes, the shredded metal is harder to identify and trace - making it easier to sell to Chinese manufacturers.

Theoretically, there are no legal obstacles to prevent China from buying metal from Russian firms under Western sanctions, but manufacturers may still be wary of losing export business to buyers seeking to avoid providing any funds to Russia.

Sanctions can also mean difficulties with processing payments and borrowing money. The sources said some Chinese companies have set up new teams to deal with Russian-related business.

'DE FACTO COPPER ROD'

Last December, according to a commercial data provider Chinese companies made a total of five purchases of products labelled as "copper rod" from RCC's plant in the Urals region. The purchases made by a United Arab Emirates-based entity called Modern Commodity Trading DMCC, generated revenues of roughly $65 million, according to the commercial data provider.

The UAE-based firm could not be reached for comment.

Russia has never been a major seller of scrap copper to China.

However, from December last year, China's copper scrap imports from Russia rose significantly, customs data showed.

Most of that, 97% or 6,434 metric tons, came through the Alashankou border of Xinjiang in December.

Russian data showed a mismatch, indicating the country sold only 73 tons of copper scrap to China in the same month.

In 2021 and 2022, an average of 95.3 tons and 125 tons of Russian copper scrap were sold to China each month.

Volumes rose sharply over the last few months with monthly imports reaching 11,599 tons by February 2024.

Customs data on Chinese imports of copper wire rod is not publicly available.

"This scrap from Russia is de facto copper rod, but not declared as rod. I cannot disclose any more detail," said a Chinese manufacturing source who asked to remain anonymous. The source added the material could be directly consumed by copper fabricators in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

While Russian data showed minimal scrap exports, a sudden increase in wire rod exports occurred in December.

According to the data, "Kyshtym Copper Electrolyte Plant JSC," a plant run by RCC delivered 8,041 tons of copper wire rod to China via Alashankou in Xinjiang in December compared with only 1,618 tons in November.

"As of today, Kyshtym Copper Electrolyte Plant sells its products only to domestic companies," the Kyshtym plant said in a response to Reuters questions on its sales to China.

"We have not monitored the products' further fate, so I have nothing to add to what has already been said."

Top News / Asia / Europe

Russia / China / copper

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients
    Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients
  • Abul Barkat at Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on 11 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    Economist Abul Barkat sent to jail in Tk297cr embezzlement case
  • National Citizen Party (NCP) Convenor Nahid Islam speaks at a rally  a rally in Jashore city’s Zero Point area on 11 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    No election acceptable without judicial reform: Nahid Islam

MOST VIEWED

  • Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    SSC, equivalent results: Pass rate drops to 68.45%, GPA-5 also declines
  • In terms of stream of education, girls maintained their excellence as well. Photo: TBS
    SSC 2025: Girls dominate boys by over 5%
  • Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
    Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
  • Students sit for SSC exam at Motijheel Girls' High School on 10 April 2025. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
    SSC exam results out: Here's how you can check online and via SMS
  • The overall pass rate across all boards this year, 68.45%, is significantly lower than last year's. Photo: Focus Bangla
    SSC 2025: Rajshahi board records highest pass rate, Barishal lowest
  • Representational image. Photo: Collected
    35% tariff: Bangladesh, US 'agree on most issues' as first day of talks ends

Related News

  • Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients
  • Rubio to meet China's foreign minister in Malaysia as US-Chinese tensions mount
  • China, Canada commit to deeper engagement with Bangladesh on trade, humanitarian assistance
  • Trump sets 50% US tariffs on copper, Brazilian imports starting in August
  • Tariffs drive US clothing imports from China to 22-year low in May

Features

Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients

Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients

1h | Panorama
Photo: Collected/BBC

What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world

23h | The Big Picture
Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

1d | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered — have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Renowned economist Abul Barkat imprisoned

Renowned economist Abul Barkat imprisoned

Now | TBS Today
Trump-Netanyahu in new strategy on Gaza issue

Trump-Netanyahu in new strategy on Gaza issue

1h | TBS World
Shocking science: why birds stay safe on electricity lines

Shocking science: why birds stay safe on electricity lines

2h | TBS Stories
Threat of 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods

Threat of 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods

3h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net